Most small to medium sized companies
actually limit the amount of business their customers do with them.
I know this sounds crazy, even unbelievable as no one in
their right mind would restrict and limit customer purchases.
The problem, of course is that it happens unintentionally.
In fact, I'll bet it's happening in your business right now. Here's how:
- Most businesses simply do not allow their prospects and
customers enough opportunities to buy from them
- Businesses don't offer enough chances to expand and
continue the customer relationship for the long-term.
One of the simplest and most immediate ways to turn this
situation around is to find ways to stay in touch.
So, how do you get started?
Force Yourself to Create a Relentless, Yet
Courteous and Helpful Outbound calling Program
Most companies fail to maximize their profit potential
through the telephone. Even companies that strongly believe they stay in close contact
with existing and past customers are usually surprised to discover how many customers they
have missed when an actual survey is done.
Unless you hire personnel specifically for this task and
make them accountable on a daily basis, many valuable customers will be left unattended.
An outbound tele-services company may make it easier to uncover revenue you have missed by
making more consistent contacts on your behalf
4 Ways to Effectively Use Outbound Telephone Calling
- Consistently call to follow-up and qualify all your
leads, bringing them closer to a closing decision. Research indicates that 78% of leads
generated are never followed up with more than once. Research also shows that on the
average it takes between 5 and 14 contacts to close a sale. Simple arithmetic tells you
that you can immediately begin to make more money by increasing your number of follow-up
contacts.
- Maintain an accurate database. When businesses fail to
maintain an accurate database, they tend to waste a lot of marketing dollars. For example,
they'll continually send information to a company executive that is no longer with the
company. Your outbound telephone calls team should gather vital information, and sort
leads according to where the prospect is in the buying process. This way, your sales team
can focus on the "hot" prospects. You'll stop wasting their time and your money.
And, you'll get more sales.
- Prospect or cold call to generate new leads or set
appointments. Typically salespeople hate to prospect and are not usually very good at it.
Prospecting is the psychological opposite activity of sales and it is usually much more
effective when done by non-sales people. A dedicated prospector or appointment setter is
usually more effective at this task than a salesperson
- Consistently contact existing and past customer base for
new opportunities. Deliver more relevant information and offer desirable end results to
your customers more consistently. They will feel like they have a stronger relationship
with your company. Your company's barriers to customer purchases will begin to disappear.
They will buy from you more. They will make greater efforts to refer more customers to
you. And, your sales will inevitably increase.
If you do not have the in-house capability to make these
kinds of outbound calls, you should think about hiring an effective outbound tele-services
company. Whatever method you use to get it done, there is no question that using your
telephone the right way can be extremely profitable. |
